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The draft of the updated Security Concept of the Union State sets out the directions for concentrating joint efforts in the field of strengthening the military security of the Union State, and Mr. Tumar explained, “Guaranteed protection of the population, sovereignty, independence of our countries, inviolability of the territory of the Union State and the possibility of its progressive development are among the most important issues. The Security Concept is based on clear principles and postulates: the creation of conditions for peaceful socio-economic development of the Union State and the protection of strategic interests of the state against military threats are the strategic objectives of strengthening the military security of the Union State.”

Mr. Tumar added that the achievement of these strategic goals is ensured in a number of key areas, “We face a whole range of important tasks that we solve within the framework of the Union State: joint defence policy, co-ordination of activities in the field of military construction, development of the armed forces of the participating states, joint use of military infrastructure and taking other measures to maintain the defence capability of the Union State. The issue of ensuring security occupies a central place in the overall integration agenda at present, and – in a broad sense – this sphere covers all other areas of integration co-operation, since financial, economic, social, cultural, humanitarian and other integration goals and objectives cannot be solved without ensuring reliable protection of the national interests of the two states from external and internal threats.”

According to the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, the rapprochement of Belarus and Russia, the integration of their financial and economic potentials, the development of a common foreign policy and common approaches to ensuring military security contradict the interests of the collective West, cause a negative reaction and active opposition.